Clarity
by Hyperficial
Summary: Part 2 out of 3 of my story trilogy "Zedd." Iris and Barry are now two wandering souls that are trying to find peace. Iris takes her time to reflect on the kiss that happened between her and Flash that night, while Barry is trying to deal with his struggle from that night. (REVISED, MAY 2017)
**A/N: What's up, guys? Hype here with a late sequel, being written at early morning. This is a sequel to my first ever story for this show, "Stay The Night." So, if you haven't read it, I recommend you to read it first before reading this, you can find it in my list of stories. And since it took one year for me to make this sequel, this one shall be long, hahaha. Also, I copied some scenes from the episode "Grodd Lives" so it could match with the story. Hope you guys enjoy this sequel!**

* * *

"No." That word has repeatedly been running around in her head for the past thirty seconds. "Okay, Iris, inhale, exhale. Calm down. Lets just line up the events that happened. Bar—" She screamed out when she came to think of his name. "Calm down, Iris! Continue lining up the things that just happened. The Flash—yes, that's better—came in and talked to me. Then I started telling him to get out, but he kept on resisting. So, we talked about . . . me, and then talked about Barry. Then the moment intensified. Then the gap was closing between us, then we . . . closed it . . . Then I took of his mask, revealing the face of my . . . my . . . best friend . . . Barry."

Iris continued crying, which what she has been doing this whole time, about the three reasons that are making her sad right now. One, Barry has been lying to her this whole time. Two, I kissed The Flash, who happens to be my best friend. Three, I have just cheated on my boyfriend, Eddie, who is a cop . . . that hates him . . . Well, The Flash, rather.

Tears kept on streaming down the lovely woman's face. Luckily, sooner or later, she got herself together and continued like nothing ever happened. She fixed the mess that the made, got her bag, went home by bus. In spite of the fact that she couldn't help but cry along the way home, having her heart aching because of the pain that he left her with.

Barry ran back home, and by home I mean S.T.A.R. Labs, because that's the only place that he could run to right now. When Barry got to the cortex of the building, he quickly took of his mask and held the railing of the table. He, too, recalled of what just happened. He went there, tried to—kind of—convince Iris that she could trust The Flash, then they went to the conversation about her best friend. Then they closed the gap between them and kissed. "Well, that didn't go exactly as planned,"he says to himself. All he wanted to do was to talk, but instead he just let myself be unmasked by her and let her know who he really is.

"Hey." The prodigy got startled by the one and only Caitlin Snow. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I was just . . . deep in my thoughts," he said

"Then why were you heavily panting while being 'deep' in your thoughts?" she asked. "And why are you in disguise? And why are you here this late?"

"Why are you still here?" he asked back.

"I was just finished working on something."

"What were you working on?"

"I was working on a serum on how to rehabilitate the metas. Now, stop trying to avoid answering the question and answer my question: Why are you here?" she said the four words one by one.

"I was just checking on the city. Seeing if there are any crimes for me to put out." He made an excuse.

"Working out there? Without our help? Seriously, is that what you can use against me?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Fine." The hero gave up. "I visited Iris in disguise again."

"This late? Is this the time that you always visit her?"

"No, not really," he replied. "But it was important for me to talk to her."

"Why this early in the morning?" She looked at the time her watch. "11:30 p.m." The physiologist read it out loud. "It could've waited tomorrow, or any other day, right?"

"Yeah, well, she's about to leave for Starling City in a few days. And I want her to leave with her trusting The Flash after what he did to her boyfriend."

"Did it work?" she asked the question that he was afraid to answer. It horrified him to answer, since the answer was scary enough to answer.

"No, it didn't."

"I'm guessing instead of making her trust The Flash, you guys kissed, and she found out who you were." Caitlin guessed correctly, making Barry have no words to be said. He didn't know how to respond to that, but fortunately, he did.

"How did you know that?" he queried.

"Body movements. You came here stressed out. Well, freaked out, rather." she stated

Barry just went with the flow and went on with the conversation. "What do you think I should do now? I left her with pain that I could only imagine," Barry claimed, throwing his hand out for expression. "It feels like I betrayed her. She kissed The Flash who turned out to be her best friend. I don't what's going to happen to the both of us now."

"Barry, sit down," she said. The two sat down on two of the three chairs of the table, with them sitting beside each other.

"Barry, when you woke up from your coma, do you remember when I said that Iris talked a lot about you?"

"Uh, yeah." I remembered. "What about it?"

"Barry, from the looks of what she always talks to me about, it feels like you guys will never close that friendship between you two. When you talk about her, it also makes me feel the same way. To me, it is pure friendship that you guys have. And if you're telling me that you guys will stop talking and seeing each other, that is impossible, because the two of you have this friendship that no one can have. Also, when you talk about her, I feel that you guys are never going to leave each other's back in the future." The doctor gave him a "cheer up" disquisition, and Barry smiled at the end, knowing that he had one hell of a friend. Although, he thought of another intrusive thought.

"Yeah, well, the destiny of our future can be changed by a single event that happened in our lives."

"But you cannot escape your fate, Barry. God knows what will happen between you two in the future. You guys might even become more than just friends," she encouraged.

The speedster smiled. He always felt happy when Caitlin encourages him like this. She's like a sister to him. "Thanks Caitlin, that really helped me a lot."

"Of course, anything for a friend," she smiled back

The next day, at Jitters, Barry was not rushing for work today. For once in his life, he woke up when his alarm clock went off. He didn't want to tire himself so he went slow today. So, like every other working day, he prepared himself for his work to Jitters. When he got there, he waited in line. When it was his turn, he said his order, which was a cup of cappuccino. He occupied a table and started sipping his coffee and used his phone to answer his messages. When he was done with his coffee, he got up and then bumped into a lady.

"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry . . . " he apologized, but when he looked up, he saw his best friend that he gave a platonic kiss to last night. "Iris . . . "

"What are you sorry for?" she asked him "Bumping into me, or what happened last night?"

He looked down, with no strength looking into her eyes. "Can we talk about this later?"

"Oh, okay, first is bumping into me, next is ignoring me." From there, Barry carried her and flashed to the vacant roof with her, keeping the distance between them.

"I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner," she said, saddened by the fact.

"I can only imagine how angry you're feeling right now."

"I'm not angry Barry, I'm just . . . disappointed," The twenty-something-year-old girl corrected. "Does Eddie know?"

"Nope," he answered "Look, I am so sorry for not telling you, Iris. There were so many times I wanted to tell you. You were the first person I wanted to tell, but . . . everything started getting crazy, and I thought maybe Joe was right, and I shouldn't—"

"Wait, wait, wait, you're telling me that my dad knew. And he told you not to tell me?" she wanted the becoming clarification, even more disappointed like before.

"He was trying to protect you," Barry pointed out, "we both were."

It took a moment of silence until she spoke, "Yeah, well maybe it's time you both stopped." Silence, once again, continued between the two friends. "And the kiss? Everything that happened last night? What was the real reason about that?"

Barry took his time to process on what he was supposed to say to her. He could've said that it was sudden, but it really WAS sudden. It happened in just under five minutes of intensifying heat of the scene. Both of them could not deny that. "I was just trying to make you trust The Flash again."

"Well, congratulations! You just made me loose even more trust for The Flash." Iris barked. "Instead, you what Barry? You made me kiss you!"

"Look," he paused and slowly walked to her, "I'm really sorry."

"I don't need a sorry, right now, Barry. What matters to me is that the person that I thought I knew better than anyone has been keeping secrets from me—big and life-changing secrets. You were supposed to be my best friend, Barry!" she shouted at him.

"I am your best friend."

""How can you say that when the most important things in your life, the things that matter the most, the things that you are supposed to share, you kept all of them from me! You lied to me, about everything!" She accused.

"I know, Iris, I know, but you haven't been entirely honest with me either," he stated.

She shrugged. "What . . . what are you talking about?"

"At Christmas, when I told you how I felt, you said that you didn't feel the same way, but I just feel like . . . I don't know, maybe things are not that simple." He recalled ."Am I wrong?" he inquired, but she never answered it.

"Then what will happen now? I just kissed my Best friend yesterday and what? I'm supposed to be okay with that? Barry, you know I just cheated on Eddie!"

"Well, can't you keep a secret Iris?"

"I can, but the fact that I made out with you makes me feel like I betrayed him and that that feeling will never go away! The feeling that I have kissed my best friend distracts me from having a perfect relationship with him!" she shouted once more.

"Are you saying that you have feelings for me?" Barry questioned her even more, trying not to believe what he just said. "Or did you have feelings for The Flash?"

Ouch, her heart just felt like it got hit by an arrow from Cupid. She couldn't deny what he said, she did have a little bit of feelings for The Flash, but now that she knows who The Flash really is. She had to have feelings for her best friend as well. Iris had to deny it, anyway. "No, of course, I don't. It's just . . . Never mind, I have to go. Got some packing to do." And from there, Barry's love exited the roof and then went out of Jitters to go back home and pack for Starling.

Later that night, Joe came home to the West Residence with some words to say to Iris because of what Barry said to him. There, he saw Iris on the table, writing a letter on the table. "I heard you talked to Barry."

She looked at him, but focused back on writing on the letter. "So this is what my cold shoulder treatment feels like?" he asked but he still didn't get a reply. He sat down, not putting that much weight, on the table "I was wrong, I was just trying to keep you safe."

"You know that excuse is getting really old, right? First it was the Police Academy, then it was dating Eddie, and now this," she complained.

"Sweetheart, you know what the man in yellow's capable of. Wells killed cops, he killed Barry's mother." He let out the name

"Dr. Wells is the man in yellow?"

"Everything he's been doing, helping Barry, it was all a lie," he explained little of his theory. "Wells killed Barry's mom."

"Did you ever stop to think that looping me in would keep me safe? That, if I knew what was going on out there I would prepare for it. Maybe I could've helped you and Barry put the bad guys away instead of being in the way." She notified.

"Believe me, Iris, I ask myself that question every single day. Every time you post something new about The Flash on your blog, " he replied whilst dragging his sentence, remembering the countless times she blogged about Barry.

Iris stood up. "Dad, it is not just about Barry being The Flash. You knew how he felt about me for God knows how long, and you didn't tell me that either!" she exclaimed, but she just realized what she blurted out to her father. She just realized that she wanted to know what he felt. She didn't know why she said it, but there was some truth to it.

"That wasn't for me to tell Iris," Joe answered, making a point with it.

"Well, you know what? If any of you had been honest with me, maybe I would still stay here. I would've not started to think of moving to Starling City if I haven't been dating him."

"You're saying, if you knew how Barry felt, you would be with him?" He popped the question. "You had feelings for him didn't you?" Iris, again, does not know on how to defend herself from that question, because it was the same question that Barry asked a few hours to go. It took some moments to for her to answer to him.

"Alright, fine. Yes, I did have feelings for him." She nodded "I had those feelings for him ever since he moved to our house when we were 11. He was just so smart, kind, weirdly attractive, charming . . . everything that I wanted a boyfriend to be. He was perfect, but then as I grew, I started thinking that he didn't have those feelings for me. Years later, he left for college, abroad. Whenever we talked, it felt like he was too busy for me, and I felt it again. I felt like he never had feelings for me. So, eventually I gave up, and started moving on from him and focus on other things. A few years later, and The Flash showed up. I started having feelings for The Flash alone. He was like another Barry, but better. Then, last night, when it turned out to be Barry I kissed, when he was disguised as The Flash, I finally knew why he was so much like Barry. And that seeing is believing, I started growing feelings for Barry again. I barely slept through the whole night with Eddie beside me. Now, I don't know if . . . " She started to form a sentence as tears in her eyes started to form, too. "If . . . "

"If you should be with Eddie?" He finished. She couldn't hold it. Like before, she broke down and cried so loudly in the whole house. She folded her arms on the table and started crying on them. Joe stood up and then comforted his daughter.

"That's why, right now, I'm here, writing a letter to Barry, explaining my feelings to him." She gave the letter to Joe so he could read it.

After he did, he quizzed, "When do you plan on giving this to him?"

"When I leave for Starling, but right now it pains me, because I'm leaving this city with a man that I don't even love anymore," she vaguely said because of her tears.

"Okay, Iris, answer this question with full assurance on this," he went, firmly. "Do you love Barry? The boy that has been your best friend for two decades now, the one that always roots for you the most, supports you, and will always be there for you?"

She nodded once more. "Yes, dad, I do love him."

"If you do love him, first you go talk to Eddie. Close the relationship between you two and stay here, I'm sure he'll understand," he instructed. "After that, go to Barry, don't send him this letter. Say what you want to say to him, from the heart."

 _ **21:21  
**_ _ **Central City Police Department**_

"Hey, Iris," Eddie greeted his girlfriend as she came in the precinct. "I'm just gonna pack up and we'll be on our way."

"Eddie . . . we need to talk." Iris caught his attention, with fear on saying what she was about to say.


End file.
